


What are Boys Made of?

by SoftDaeguBoy



Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies)
Genre: Albus being a great teacher, Cinnamon Roll Newt Scamander, FTM Newt Scamander, Fluff, Light Angst, Newt is a Dork, Other, Protective Siblings, Trans Male Character, Young Newt Scamander, brief deadname mention, i literally made up newts deadname in this, idk this came from a groupchat where we were messing with some headcanons, takes place in like newts early years???, these tags are a literal mess oops
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-14
Updated: 2018-12-14
Packaged: 2019-09-17 12:42:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16974762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SoftDaeguBoy/pseuds/SoftDaeguBoy
Summary: "Slugs and snails, and puppy dogs tails, That's what little boys are made of"-Transboy! Newt Scamander AU because why not? This is mainly just a random oneshot that i really wanted to write so I hope you enjoy it :)





	What are Boys Made of?

**Author's Note:**

> This is a oneshot set in Newt's younger years. This doesn't mention anything from either of the films so theres no spoilers to be aware of.  
> Also side note: Newt's deadname in this is Niamh and thats literally only because its the closest to Newt that I could think of and its literally only used for the first half of the story.

Niamh had been at Hogwarts for three years now, and over these three years she tended to keep her head down and preferred not to draw attention to herself. She threw herself into her studies and did her best to avoid getting into too much trouble (though it naturally seemed to just follow her, it’s not her fault at all!). She spent a lot of time being just known as Theseus Scamander’s little sister, and to her that was just fine.  
In the most recent term at Hogwarts, after returning to school from Christmas break, Niamh’s teachers noted that she was becoming distracted and didn’t appear to be fully paying attention to her studies. She seemed distant from her classmates, particularly with those she shared a dormitory with, and she generally preferred to remain isolated. Her previous enthusiasm in classes had seemingly been extinguished, replacing the once bright and outspoken student with a quiet and withdrawn copy of her. 

This change in behaviour seemed rather sudden, and rightfully a little concerning to those who knew her, but Niamh had felt like this had being stewing inside her for months or even years. At the age of 14, her body was changing, and as every day passed she slowly felt more and more like a stranger in her own skin. Of course, she kept this to herself, because who would even believe her if she tried to explain this?  
For months before the break, she had been trying to place and pinpoint exactly what it was that was making her feel this way.  
“Do I think I’m fat? Am I not pretty enough? Am I self-conscious?” she questioned herself relentlessly, picking apart what she could to work out what was wrong. “Is this just how puberty goes?” Niamh asked herself.  
Over time she found herself being more interested in the boys in her classes, and for a few weeks she felt relieved at having found what was the matter. 

“Perhaps I just need a boyfriend, maybe that’s what this is” she told herself, or more tried to convince herself of this. Though this feeling of relief felt short-lived to Niamh as she began to realise that her so called interest in her male peers was not from a place of wanting to court them, but rather terrifyingly from a place of…jealousy? She felt sick for days after stumbling over this realisation, worrying and tormenting herself that this really, surely could not be the reason she felt so confused and out of place within herself. Could it?  
For weeks she avoided thinking about this discovery, and really tried to just focus on her studies, but as the Christmas break fast approached, she was running out of distractions. Outside of school, she didn’t have a lot to focus on besides spending time with her family and burying herself in books about the magical creatures that her mother also had an interest in. And sure enough, over the break from school, she found herself unable to keep her attention away from this thought that was beginning to eat away at her. 

By the end of the break, Niamh had found herself firmly in the realisation that she did not feel at all like a girl, and that she would be much happier transitioning to live her life as a boy. Finally, after months of uneasiness and confusion surrounding herself, she had an answer, something she could work with. Before returning to school, she cut her hair short and to just above her shoulders. Too short to tie up, but not so short that it would raise too many eyebrows. In the weeks following the end of the break and the start of the new term, Niamh spent a lot of time in front of a mirror in her dormitory while it was empty trying on clothes she had stolen from her brother’s wardrobe. Just simple shirt and slacks, nothing that he would notice to be missing, but male clothes nonetheless. She looked at herself and regularly practiced addressing herself with male pronouns, finding them much more comforting and suiting than “she” and “her”, and even testing out a new name for herself; Newton Scamander (or just Newt for short), not Niamh Scamander.  
She, no…he found himself beaming in these small moments where things fell into place. But as much as he found comfort in this, he felt the pressure of still having to hide this secret beginning to bear down on him heavily, manifesting in a behaviour change and sparking the concern of his teachers. 

His Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, Albus Dumbledore called him back after a class a few months into the new term to talk, his concern for the young student becoming hard to brush off at this point.  
“Niamh, do you know why I asked you to stay after class?” Albus asked quietly, voice calm and concerned for him. Newt ducked his head, feeling awkward hearing the name he had begun to reject. He shrugged, keeping his eyes fixed to the floor, suddenly very interested in the state of his shoes. His reaction drew a sigh from his professor, and he looked up to see Albus run a hand over his face, seeming almost exasperated at this.  
“Are you okay? Your other professors have mentioned that you appear very withdrawn and don’t appear to have a lot of focus” he asked, looking at Newt. “Did something happen over the break that we should be aware of?”  
Newt tensed, a reaction his professor definitely did not miss. He shook his head quickly, tears threatening to fall at the idea of finally being able to get this off his chest. “No…” he whispered, emotion in his voice betraying him as he spoke. Albus frowned and stood up straight from where he had been leaning on his desk.  
“Niamh, if there is something, then we are here to hel-“  
“Sir, I don’t think I’m a girl” Newt cut him off, heart hammering in his chest and tears finally falling as he looked up at his professor. Albus looked shocked at the sudden confession as Newt felt. He flushed red and ducked his head down again. “Sorry…” he mumbled.  
Albus shook his head, and chuckled a little bit to himself, making Newt look up at him with a curious look. Newt wiped his eyes and frowned. “Why are you laughing?” he asked, shifting nervously and beginning to panic a little bit. Was what he admitted really that outside of the realms of possibility that he had to be laughed at? 

“No, no, I’m not laughing at what you have told me, I’m laughing that you apologised…” Albus explained, cutting off Newts spiralling train of thought. “Would you mind telling me a little more about what you meant?” he continued, inviting Newt to sit across from him at the desks in the class room. Newt took a seat, setting down his books and facing his professor nervously.  
“Well I don’t feel like a girl, I feel like a boy…to put it bluntly sir” Newt began, looking anywhere but at Albus. “I’ve thought about it an awful lot, and it’s the only thing that makes sense to how I feel” he continued, fidgeting in his seat and biting his lip. “Is it wrong for me to feel this way?” Newt asked, noticing the silence in the room.  
Albus shook his head and smiled reassuringly at the young man. “No, it’s only as wrong as you allow it to feel” Albus said, shrugging. “I know of a few wizards and witches who have described this before, and it’s not as taboo as you would think it to be” Newt nodded, feeling relieved to hear this. “To put it in relatively simple terms,” Albus continued, “is that you feel trapped in the wrong body?”.  
As he said this, Newt felt a wave of relief and overwhelming sense of clarity wash over him, and broke down into tears as he felt the pressure being lifted from his shoulders. Albus put a comforting hand on his shoulder, letting Newt cry. “Theres others who feel like this, you aren’t alone in this” he said quietly to the crying boy in front of him.  
Once Newt calmed down, Albus offered him a hankerchief to wipe his eyes with, his professor smiled reassuringly again. “Is there a name you would rather be called?” He asked the boy politely. Newt smiled a little to himself, a shy nod as he wiped his eyes. “Uh yes… Uhm Newton, or just Newt for short” he said quietly. “Yeah, Newt Scamander”  
Albus nodded and stood up. “Well, Newt? I think you will make a fine young man by the time you graduate from here”. 

Albus was the first of the teachers to use Newt’s correct pronouns and name and had helped him come out to the rest of his teachers. He also provided Newt with the boy’s uniform to replace his current uniform, wanting to help Newt’s transition go as smoothly as possible.  
About a month after coming out to Albus, Newt wrote to his brother and came out to him as well. He sent it off by owl and nervously waited for a letter in response. Newt couldn’t say he was surprised that his brother hadn’t responded very quickly, given Theseus was training to be an Auror, and so didn’t have a lot of time to spare, and no doubt would also find Newt’s coming out to be a bit of a bombshell. Whilst waiting, Newt got a shorter haircut, much more like the other boys at school and fashioned a vest to conceal his chest with. When he arrived back at his dorm a few weeks later, he found a parcel waiting for him, along with a short letter. 

_Dear N,_  
_Apologies for such a late reply, I can only hope that this finds you in one piece._  
_In response to your letter that you sent me, I just want to say that I fully accept who you are, and I apologise now if I ever mess anything up. You’ll have to show me how you look now, I’d like to see how my new little brother is doing._  
_In this parcel is some clothes that I think you may like, there’s not a lot but it’s a start on things I suppose, if you haven’t already._  
_I’ll see you soon,_  
_Theseus_

Newt set down the note and looked in the parcel, finding a small bundle of boy’s clothes, similar to what Theseus used to wear when he was Newts age. He smiled to himself and looked through them, overwhelmed by his brother’s kindness and acceptance.  
He set about to get a picture of his new haircut to send to his brother, and quickly scrawled out a thank you letter. Newt sent it off and changed out of his school uniform into some of the clothes his brother had gifted him. 

\- - -

The rest of Newt’s time at Hogwarts passed fairly quickly without much trouble, besides the occasional run in with teachers about small things. A lot of teachers came to favour other students over Newt, mainly due to his habit of bringing magical beasts onto school grounds. Besides these small run ins, Newts school life was fairly simple.  
Until his final year. 

Newt had been doing all the research he could secretly about how he could fix his body to reflect how he felt. All the glamour’s in the world couldn’t change the fact that under his clothes it was all just…wrong.  
He snuck books from the library and read for hours about spells that he could use to alter his body. He had stumbled across the concept of transfiguration and gathered what he needed to try and attempt to transfigure his body into that of a male. Deep down he knew that it was forbidden to carry out those kinds of activities on school grounds but at this point, Newt was becoming desperate. After researching and collecting what he needed, he waited until it was late and snuck into the bathrooms. Setting down a book with directions and shrugging off his outer layers of clothing until he was just in his shirt and underwear. He carefully began the process, concentrating hard on his goal.  
Newt was so immersed in making sure he did everything right, he didn’t hear the footsteps approaching the bathroom. Just as he begun to cast the start of his transfiguration, someone behind him cleared his throat, startling Newt and making him drop his wand. As his wand clattered to the floor, a small burst of energy escaped, shattering the mirrors and cracking a couple of tiles on the wall. Newt turned quickly, eyes widening to see his Charms professor, Professor Flitwick, stood in the door way of the bathroom. “What are you doing Newt?” he asked, glancing at the book propped open beside Newt.  
“Oh, uh nothing…just practicing a charm from your class sir” Newt lied, trying to kick the book shut. Flitwick wasn’t convinced and looked at the young man with a raised eyebrow. “I hadn’t taught you transfiguration, and I certainly don’t condone attempting human transfiguration on school grounds” he remarked, nodding towards the book on the floor. “Newt, youre a bright student, you should know better than to attempt something as dangerous as this” he continued. Newt hung his head in shame, and slight dismay that he had been caught.  
“You know I have to report this, right?” Newt nodded and scratched the back of his head. He sighed a little and looked at his professor. “Yes sir” he replied, leaning down to collect his belongings.  
“I’ll take your wand, Mr Scamander” Flitwick put his hand out for Newt to hand over his wand, which he did so reluctantly. “Go back to bed, this will be dealt with in the morning, young man”. Newt nodded and hurriedly slipped back into his dorm, tears threatening to spill over. He did his best to sleep, despite knowing that he had really gotten himself into trouble this time. 

The following morning, Newt got up and dressed in his uniform as normal. At the Great Hall, the usual announcements were made, and then a small note was dropped in front of Newt to indicate that he was to go to the Headmaster’s office after breakfast. He kept his head down and tried to finish his breakfast as quickly as possible so that he could be excused.  
He walked to the office slowly, stopping in his tracks at the end of the hallway when he saw his brother stood outside of the office too. When Theseus saw his brother, he shot him a look that almost said, “I really can’t believe you”. Newt ducked his head and walked up to him slowly.  
“Hey These…” he started but looked down when his brother gave him a short glare.  
“Don’t give me that, Newt… what on earth have you done for me to be called in to talk to the headmaster about” Newt flinched at how angry his brother was with him, shifting on the spot awkwardly. He muttered something, looking anywhere but at his brother. “What was that?” “I tried to transfigure myself…” Newt repeated, huffing and stepping away to avoid seeing his brother’s disappointment. Theseus looked at him and ran a hand over his face. “Newt…” Newt’s face flamed with shame and he ran his hand through his hair. “I know! I know it was stupid, but please I swear I wasn’t doing it to hurt anyone” he pleaded, finally looking at his brother.  
Theseus shook his head and sighed. “If you knew that it was dangerous and forbidden on school grounds, why did you try to do it anyway?” he asked. Newt teared up and shrugged, wiping his eyes quickly. “I don’t know…I was desperate okay…” he argued. “I was desperate to just fix my body and for things to be right”. Theseus watched his younger brother and any anger he was feeling slipped away as he watched Newt cry. “Oh Newt…come here” he pulled him into a hug. “You know you didn’t need to do all of that to be a man…I swear I see you as my brother, and everyone here sees you as Newt”  
“But that doesn’t change that all of this,” he gestured to himself vaguely, “is all wrong…” he explained. 

Before Theseus could try and comfort his brother more, they were called into the office. Stood behind the Headmaster was Professor Flitwick and Professor Dumbledore. Both Scamander brothers took a seat opposite Newt’s teachers. Professor Dippet looked between them before settling on Newt. “You know why you are here, Miss Scamander?” Newt flinched and looked up at Albus with wide eyes. Albus cleared his throat and looked at Dippet, before speaking.  
“Sorry to interrupt but its Mr Scamander” he corrected the Headmaster, nodding to Newt after. Dippet waved him off and nodded. “Yes, apologies Scamander” he cleared his own throat and looked down at a sheet in front of him. “Any way, last night Professor Flitwick caught you attempting to cast a human transfiguration, as Professor Dumbledore has explained what he thinks your motive was, to disguise yourself as a male, correct?” Dippet continued and looked down at Newt. Newt felt Theseus tense beside him, and he readied himself for his brother kicking up a fuss with the Headmaster.  
“Actually, the way you worded it made it seem like Newt had criminal intention, when in fact it isn’t like that at all” Theseus began explaining.  
“Scamander knew the implications of attempting this sort of transfiguration on school grounds, and she is fully aware that it is potentially dangerous” Dippet countered, and Newt slumped in his seat. Albus shot him a sympathetic look. Even Flitwick, despite being angry at Newts actions, seemed a little irritated at the headmaster’s obvious ignorance about Newt’s pronouns.  
“My brother was distressed about his body, for reasons you should already be aware of, Sir” Theseus continued. “That’s why he attempted to transfigure himself, and frankly the way you continue to ignore that he uses male pronouns is probably not helping him” he looked to Newt, who had sunk back into is chair and was desperately wanting to have this conversation over. 

Dippet raised an eyebrow and looked back at the notes on the incident. “Professor Dumbledore argued strongly against my decision to expel Scamander from the school, arguing that Scamander is a bright student and has never had any previous issues with the school and following its rules” he explained to Theseus. “However, I remain by my decision as Scamander knew very clearly that attempting a transfiguration was dangerous and could have posed a risk to human life on school grounds” he finished, beginning to fill out a form on his desk.  
Theseus looked at Newt, who had now hung his head in an attempt to hide his tears, and then back to the Headmaster. “Unbelievable…” he muttered and ran a hand through his hair. “What about his wand? Was it confiscated?” he asked, looking to Flitwick.  
“Scamander may have…his wand returned on the condition that he is tutored in place of being at Hogwarts” Dippet explained, pushing a box towards Theseus containing Newt’s wand. Theseus picked it up and held it in his lap.  
“Scamander is to collect his belongings and leave today, I’m sorry to have pulled you away from your important work for the Ministry, Theseus” the Headmaster finished, dismissing them from the office. Theseus shook his hand before leaving and pulled Newt up from the chair to lead him out to the corridor. Newt had held it together before finally crying, already walking down the corridor quickly to his dorm. Theseus hurried to keep up, following him to help him pack his things.  
Once in the dorm, Newt sat on his bed and looked down at his lap, wiping his eyes as Theseus walked in. “I’m sorry These…” he said quietly, looking around for his things.  
Theseus sat beside his younger brother and shook his head. “Don’t be sorry, now I only care that you’re okay, Newt” he put an arm around him, Newt leaning against him and accepting the hug awkwardly. 

Newts belongings had been packed and he put on his coat, looking at Theseus before leaving the dorm and descending the stairs to the main corridor. He was thankful that morning lessons were still in progress, glad for the lack of people in the corridors to gawk at him and gossip about his expulsion in front of him. Once he was gone, they could say all they liked, he wasn’t going to be there to hear it. As they were about to leave the school, Albus hurried down the corridor to stop them.  
“Newt, wait before you leave” he called, catching up to them. “I’m so sorry that I couldn’t do more to prevent you being expelled” Albus apologised, looking at Newt.  
Newt shuffled a little and ducked his head shyly. “Don’t worry, sir, I brought this on myself” he shrugged, trying not to appear too upset any more. Albus sighed a little and shook his head. “I can’t blame you for what you did, though I don’t exactly condone it” he said. “Please keep in touch Newt, I want to know you’re okay” he said before offering his hand out to shake. Newt took his hand and shook it, smiling a little.  
“Thank you sir, and I will” he nodded, looking away again. 

Albus looked at Newt and laughed a little to himself. Newt glanced back up at his professor and frowned. “Why are you laughing?”  
“Because I was right in what I said a couple years ago, when you first told me that you were Newt” “About what you said…?” Newt tilted his head, trying to remember what it was Albus had said to him. “I said that you would make a fine young man when you graduated from here… though you aren’t exactly graduating, you still made a fine young man” Albus said.  
Newt smiled and look down, shaking his head a little as he remembered being told this. “I’m glad you think so sir…” 


End file.
